MANILA WATER Co., Inc. has started operating an additional 13 deep wells in its concession area to address the water shortage.
“As of March 27, 2019, more than 15 million liters of water per day (MLD) have been drawn from these deep wells and is seen to bring more water supply upon full operation of more deep wells in the coming months,” the Ayala-led company said in a statement on Thursday.
Before the activation of the new deep wells, the company said it was able to source more than 9 MLD from five deep wells located in Curayao, Rodriguez.
“It is expected that at least 30 [MLD] from more deep wells will be able to augment supply by the end of March,” Manila Water said.
The current demand of Metro Manila’s east zone concessionaire is about 100 to 150 MLD above its allocation of 1,600 MLD from Angat Dam.
Aside from the deep wells, additional supply is now coming from its Cardona water treatment plant, which now delivers 23 MLD, and from the cross-border flows coming from Metro Manila’s west zone concessionaire Maynilad Water Services, Inc., which now provides 11 MLD and will progressively increase up to 50 MLD by June.
On Tuesday, Manila Water announced a one-time bill waiver program in March to be reflected in its customers’ April bill as relief to those who were severely affected by the massive water service interruption.
Customers in the east zone, from low-income families to commercial and industrial establishments, experienced water shortage that began on March 6 with the implementation of the scheduled water service interruption scheme to refill Manila Water’s 28 network reservoirs.
On Thursday, shares in Manila Water fell by 4.02% to close at P22.70 each. — Victor V. Saulon
